21/10/23

Dear ICOM Management and Esteemed Board Members,

Subject: Urgent: Appeal for a Strong Stance by ICOM on Recent Events in Israel

Two weeks have passed since the horriﬁc a ack on Israel started, leaving a horrifying
toll of over 1,400 dead, 3,500 wounded, and about 200 kidnapped. Hamas militants
crossed the border and brutally attacked communities just inside Israel, resulting in
the deaths of women, the elderly, children, and young families. Every day, thousandsof missiles fall on Israeli ci es, targe ng Chris ans, Muslims, and Jews equally.
France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States are among morethan 40 na ons that have categorically denounced Hamas and classiﬁed its strategies
as terrorist. We value their unﬂinching denuncia on of such acts of terror and their
persistent support. Their unwavering statements are supported by deeds that
demonstrate a change in the way the world views the circumstance, acknowledging
the drama c turn of events that has occurred since last week.
Although we are aware of the cri ques aimed at Israel, it is crucial to stress that thehorriﬁc a acks carried out by Hamas, backed by Iran, have no excuse, and wevehemently oppose any eﬀort at reasoning them out. Hamas's ac vi es amount tonothing less than the heinous murder, rape, torture, and deten on of defencelesscivilians. We demand that ICOM condemn these acts of terror with the utmostfervour.
To be clear: This is not another episode in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hamas andIslamic Jihad have shown themselves to be brutal and inhumane organizations, akinto the Taliban and the Islamic State.
We also want to remind the ICOM community that Israel is a liberal democracy that
protects freedom of expression, diversity, and the arts—values that the ICOM
community shares, as shown by the most recent revisions to the deﬁni on of aMuseum. These exact ideals are being a acked by Hamas in their assault on ourci es and communi es.
Since the a ack, museum employees na onwide have acted in accordance withICOM’s regula ons to safeguard the priceless ar facts, ethnological specimens, andarchaeology under their care. The commi ed personnel at work face risks because of
these eﬀorts. In these trying mes, Israeli museums also serve society by boos ng
people's spirits and oﬀering space for contempla on. Their work is far fromwww.icom.org.il | office@icom.org.il | Fax:03-9565788 | Tel: 03-9565977

complete, and we hope the ICOM community will con nue to support us in
defending these important principles.
We sincerely implore the ICOM community to condemn the massacre of defencelessci zens by Hamas and to declare a bold stance in support of humanity and liberalism.

With hopes for be er mes,

Board of ICOM Israel
Directors of Museums in Israel

Suzanne Landau, Director the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Tania Coen-Uzzielli, Director Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Ami Katz, Director Muza, Erez Israel Museum, Tel Aviv
Dan Tadmor, Director ANU-Museum of the Jewish People
Yotam Yakir, Director Haifa Museums
Eilat Lieber, Director, Tower of David Jerusalem Museum
Yossi Ani, Director The Israel Na onal Museum of Science, Technology & space, Haifa
Maya Halevy, Director Bloomﬁeld Science Museum Jerusalem
Alon Sapan, CEO, The Steinhardt Museum of Natural History
Orit Lev-Segev, Director Mishkan Museum of Art, Ein-Harod
Oded Shoham, Director of the Negev Museum of Art, Beer Sheva
Gilad Levian, CEO, Museum for Islamic Art, Jerusalem
Dr. Risa Levi , CEO, Bible Land Museum Jerusalem
Dr. Aya Lurie, Director and chief Curator Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art
Reut Ferster, Director Petach Tikva Museum of Art
Nurit Asher Fenig, Director Wilfrid Israel Museum for Asian Art and Studies
Monica Lavi, Director Nahum Gutman Museum of Art, Tel Aviv

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Ran Gwe a, CEO, Ramat Gan Museum of Israeli Art
Dr. Liat Ben David, CEO the Clore Garden of Science Museum, Davidson Ins tute
Dr. Netzach Farbiash, CEO Carassso Science Park, Beer Sheva
Maya Dvash, Chief Curator Design Museum Holon
Daniel Niv, Director U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art, Jerusalem
Yardena Wiesenberg, Director Kfar Saba Museum
Ofra Baram, Director, Beit Shturman Museum Ein-Harod
Ron Peled, Director Ramle Municipal Museum
Dr. Smadar Sheﬃ, Director Contemporary Art Center Ramle
Dorit Goren, Director Khan Hdera MuseumTamar Shooval, Director Ein Dor Museum
Anat Nissim, Director Ussishkin Museum, Kibbutz Dan
Niv Nudelman, Director Man and The Living World Museum, Ramat Gan
Iris Groman, Director the Yzrael Vally Museum
Avi Ifergan, Director and Chief Curator the Bar-David Museum of Art and Judaica
Hagai Sason, Director of the Moshe Castel Museum of Art
Ora Pikel Tzabari, Curator Old Yeshuv Court Museum, Jerusalem
Merav Maor Komlosh, CEO, Museum on the Seam, Jerusalem
Smadar Keren, Director and Chief Curator, Beit Uri and Ramu Nehoshtan Museum

Noga Efraim, Managing Director, The Sea Museum Marine archaeology& ecology,Palmachim
Raz Samira, Chair, ICOM Israel

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